May 24,1999
His Excellency Yasser Arafat
President
Palestinian National Authority
Al-Muntada, Gaza
Your Excellency,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply alarmed by recent efforts by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to silence print and broadcast media in the West Bank and Gaza.
On May 22 and May 23, Palestinian security authorities arrested three journalists working for the Islamist weekly Al-Risala in Gaza in response to an article published in the paper’s May 20 edition about the Palestinian police’s alleged torture of prisoner Ayman Amassi. The article cited accounts from Amassi’s family saying that Amassi–who was recently transferred from Palestinian custody to Gaza Hospital’s intensive care unit–had been tortured by authorities despite official claims that he had allegedly attempted to hang himself while in custody. The three journalists–editor Wisam Afeefa, editor in chief Saleh Bardaweel, and managing editor Ghazi Hamad–were taken to the Criminal Investigation Department in Gaza for interrogation. Hamad was released last night; however, Afeefa and Bardaweel remain in custody.
CPJ is also concerned about official efforts in recent weeks to censor the private broadcast media in the West Bank. On May 17, 1999, Palestinian security authorities ordered the Bethlehem-based Al-Rao’ TV to suspend broadcasting in response to a May 13, 1999, broadcast of a play titled “Natrin Faraj,” which authorities claimed incited “prejudice” between Christians and Muslims. Staff at Al-Rao’ TV said that they were verbally informed of the closure on May 17 by Preventive Security Services (PSS), and that an official closure order, signed by PSS chief Jabril Rajoub, was handed to them on May 19.
For more than a year, Al-Roa’ TV has been the target of repeated official harassment for its independent news coverage and programming. On February 16, 1998, the station was suspended indefinitely when more than 100 police surrounded its headquarters and forced it off the air. Al-Roa’ TV had earlier broadcast news about pro-Iraqi demonstrations in the West Bank during tensions between United Nations weapons inspectors and Iraq and had aired a program on which viewers were able to phone in to express solidarity with Iraqis. The station remained off the air for five months and resumed broadcasting in July 1998.
In a separate incident, Al-Roa’ TV was closed along with five other television and radio stations on December 18, 1998, for one day, apparently for broadcasting anti-U.S. views during the U.S.-led airstrikes against Iraq. More recently, Al-Roa’ TV was forced off the air for two days in late April 1999 after the official Palestine TV took over its broadcasting frequency. Journalists at Al-Roa’ TV believe the move was prompted by Palestine TV’s desire to exploit Al-Roa’ TV’s more powerful distribution frequencies to the cities of Ramallah and Jericho. As a result of the measure, Al-Roa’ TV estimates that it spent U.S. $17,000 in new equipment to accommodate a new frequency.
Another Palestinian station, the Hebron-based Amal TV, has also been the target of harassment by Palestinian authorities in recent weeks. On April 26, 1999, Palestinian security authorities in Hebron verbally ordered the station to suspend broadcasting for allegedly jamming the frequency of Palestine TV. According to journalists from Amal TV, however, officials at Palestine TV were unaware of any such jamming. Staff at Amal TV suspect the closure was in reprisal for the broadcast of a program about the topic of corruption in Islam or a story about a Palestinian man who had held his son captive for several years in a cave in Hebron. The station resumed broadcasting just over one week ago.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a nongovernmental organization of journalists dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide, views the Palestinian National Authority’s arrest of Wisam Afeefa, Saleh Bardaweel, and Ghazi Hamad and the closure of Al-Roa’ TV as blatant attempts to silence the media in violation of the right to free expression, as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19 guarantees the right of journalists and individuals to “seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
We respectfully urge Your Excellency to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of Wisam Afeefa and Saleh Bardaweel and to immediately reverse the closure imposed on Al-Roa’ TV in accordance with free expression guarantees under international law. We also urge Your Excellency to cease official harassment of the print and broadcast media in the areas under control of the PNA, and call on Your Excellency to ensure the ability of journalists to report news and opinion freely, without reprisal.
Thank you for your attention to these important matters. We look forward to your prompt reply.
Sincerely,
Ann Cooper
Executive Director
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His Excellency Yasser Arafat
President
Palestinian National Authority
Al-Muntada, Gaza